Water extracting device for paper machines and method of making paper



June 15, 1937. BERRY 2,083,817

WATER EXTRACTING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINES AND METHOD OF MAKING PAPERFiled May 5, 1955 2 sheets sheet 1 N'-\ n @J zwzz-lser/ E. E. BERRY June15, 1937.

WATER EXTRACTING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINES AND METHOD OF MAKING PAPERFiled May 3, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MED U5 Zar/Zfeny Patented June 15,1937 WATER EXTRACTING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINES AND METHOD OF MAKINGPAPER Earl E. Berry, new; Wis., assignor to Beloit Iron Works, Beloit,Wis.,' a corporation of Wiscousin Application May .3, l

935; S erialNo. 19,590

- 9 Claims. (01. 92-38) This invention relates to a water extractingdevice for receiving the wet web ofpaper directly from theforming partof a paper machine,

More specifically this invention relates to an improved form of suctionand extraction device for removing moisture from paper webs formed on acylinder machine without the 'aidof the large number of primary or babypresses heretoforerequired on cylinder. type paperi machines.

The invention also includes" a process for removing water from cylinderfor'med paper webs In the conventional multi-cylinder type of paper,machine,'the pickup felt: is contacted with thetopportion of eachcylinder mold to thereby remove. the wet fibrous web from the revolvingcylinder. A built-upfibrous 'web is thus caused to adhere to the underside of the-pickup felt. After leaving the last cylindermold, the'weband felt is trained around'a roll positioned at the rearofthe machineand travel back over the cylinder molds. ,I )u'ring its travel back overthe 'm'olds;the fibrous web, which'is now on the upper surfacelof'thepickup felt is'covered with .a top felt an d pressed :while between thetwo felts by.

- means ofjprimar y. press. rolls arranged in batqteri'estqimpartagraduallyincreasing pressure a's the-wateris'removed from the web andfelt.

Itis essential thatlthe primary pressing action 4 be .ve'ry -jgentle atfirst and gradually increased 730 .until the web is suflic'iently dry sothat it can be subjected-to. high pressures without severe crush- Thepheretofore' considered necessary primary pressrolls-have manydisadvantageous features,

most" objectionable of which i may be listed as followsz t (1);- Highinitialexpense to purchase and nstall 1 3 required number'of rollsf.

. (2) High maintenance cost in l'reeping the rolls synchronize-and drivethe sets or batteries of ro ll s.- 3 i (5 Passage of wet web throughthelarge numk vber of. nips between 'the rolls t'ends todistort and 50spoil the fiber formation of the web;

(.6) Air often enters between the web and Y 'feltsand punctures or blowsthe wbiduring the-pressing operation between the lrolls. (7) Multi-plywebs often separate at the plies 55 as they-pass betweenthe nips of therolls be- I i i ground and'in replacing worn rubber covers for web bypressure at the nip of the rolls, and

cause the web has to conform with the radius of the rolls.

I have now provided a. water extracting device to replace the primarypress rolls in cylinder type paper machines. ,My 7 device removes la geamounts of thewater from the cylinder formed web bysuction andthereafter presses the web against the suctiondevice itself to removefurther quantities of water so that the web may be subjected to highpressures without damage or maybe directly passed to the driers. Inaccordance with my invention, I provide a suction roll withsmali holesdrilled through its periphery and spaced as close together as possible.The holes are so shaped and spaced, as will be hereinafter described,toreduce the resistance of entering air 'and water as much as possible.The' suctionroll is provided with the usual type of floating headsuction manifold but is arranged so as to h ave a relatively widesuetion 'ar'ea. Apress roll is mounted above the suction roll so thatthe nip between the rolls occurs either inside the suction area orjustat, or beyond the end of the suction area, as defined by the suctionmanifold within the perforated drum.

This combination suction cylinder type paper machine and the pickup feltis trained around the suction roll and passe'sbetween the nip of thepress roll and suction roll.

' suction roll'to remove further quantities of water andsufficientlyform the web so that it may be passed directly to heavy dutypresses or to the drying cylinders. Since the felt is somewhat V drumand press rollis mounted after the last cylinder mold on the dried by'the precedi'ng suction treatment; it absorbs water which hasbeenliberated from the thereby aids the drying of the web.

The suction-,roll must be provided with small diameter holes soithat theweb and felt are not suckedor pressed. into'the holes and thus dam-4aged. The entry of theweb and felt into the holes would also space theweband felt somewhat from' the toppress roll and thereby make a theapplication-of pressure less effective.

In'rny :copendingapplication entitled Cylinder paper machine and methodof making paper, Serial No.19,5 91, filed of even date here-V.

with, I have described and claimed a cylinder type of paper makingmachine in which a P up felt emoves the fibrous mats from the cylindermolds, carries the mats through a water extracting device accordingto'this invention and immediately thereafter transfers the so formedfibrous web to another felt or carrier before the web canreabsorbmoisture from the pick-up felt.

' In my copending application entitled Cylinder paper machine andprocess of making paper, Serial No. 26,181, filed June 12, 1935, I havedescribed and claimed a cylinder type of paper making machine having thepick-up felt travelling over the cylinder molds to remove the fibrousmats therefrom and carry the mats through a water extracting deviceaccording to this inven tion to form a fibrous web therefrom. Thedirection of travel of the web is reversed after passage through thewater extracting device and the web is carried by another felt orcarrier with the pick-up felt side of the web exposed.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a water removingdevice for cylinder formed webs which dispenses with the heretoforenecessary primary presses, extractor rolls and the like, normally usedon this type of paper machines.

Another object of this invention is to provide a. water extractingdevice including a suction drum and co-operating press roll for removingwater from the pickup felt and fibrous web formed on cylinder type papermachines.

A further object of this invention is to provide a suction-roll withholes of a sufficiently small size and so closely spaced that a cylinderformed fibrous web may be subjected thereon, without damage, to suctionof a high degree' A further object of this invention is to provide aprocess for removing water from cylinder formed fibrous webs without theaid of primary presses and extractor rolls.

A further object of this invention is to provide a process for removingwater from newly formed wet fibrous webs by suction and subsequentpressure onthe suction device.

Other and further objects of this inventio will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings whichdisclose a preferred embodiment of the invention.

. On the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary elevational view with parts in vertical crosssection of a cylinder type paper machine showing the last cylinder moldand the water removing device of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the outside periphery of thesuction roll drum used in this invention illustrating the manner inwhich the roll is perforated.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the suction roll drumshowing the holes drilled therethrough.

Figure 4 is a broken elevational view with parts in vertical crosssection of an alternative form of cylinder type paper machine embodyingthe water removing device of this invention and illustrating-the mannerin which a top' felt may be used on the machine if desired.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of a suctionslice.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figures 1 and 4, the reference numeral l0 designates cylinder moldsof the conventional type rotating in vats ll containing the paper stock.A pickup felt I2 is directed over the top of the cylinder molds Ill andis pressed against the periphery of the cylinder molds by coucher rollsl3 of the conventional type. The fibrous web formed on the cylindermolds i0 is thustransferred to the pickup felt II which travels towardthe rear of the machine as indicated and around a roll [4.

The water extracting device of this invention is mounted above the roll14 between the vertical legs l5 and I6 of a frame structure. The waterremoving device comprises a suction roll I! and a co-operating pressroll I8. The suction roll i1 is mounted at its ends in bearings l9 andis connected through a hollow trunnion 20 located in one or both ends ofthe roll to a drain pipe 2| which is connected with a suction pump (notshown). A suction box 22 is mounted within the roll I! and carried bythe trunnion 20. The suction box 22 is provided with a floating head 22awhich rubs or bears against the inner periphery of this roll to define asuction area indicated generally at A. The suction roll may be of anysuitable construction known to the art such as the roll described in myUnited States Patent No. 1,679,598. However, in the presentinstallation, the floating head 22a defines a larger suction area thanis customary in suction rolls. Furthermore, the holes 23 (Figs. 2 and 3)drilled through the roll I! are of smaller diameter and are spacedcloser together than in the customary suction roll. The holes 23 arecountersunk for about an eighth of an inch as shown at 24. Whereas theholes of the customary suction roll average about of an inch indiameterand are countersunk on the surface to provide openings of inchto inch in diameter, the holes of the suction roll used in thisinvention are reduced to a diameter of about to inch with the largestdiameter of the countersunk portion being about ito 1 3' inch. The holesare arranged so as to provide a minimum of solid surface on the roll.Because the holes are small and are close together, the countersinks 24can be very gradual to eliminate the vortex draining effect produced bylarger holes, spaced further apart and provided with flat eountersinksto reduce the land area. between the holes which reduces the resistanceto drainage.

As shown in Fig. 2, the holes are arranged in and the rows are staggeredso that the center of a hole in one row is positioned at a point mid-waybetween the holes in an azfiacent row.

When holes having a diamter of inch are drilled in the suction drum, thecenters of the holes in each row are spaced about .28 inch apart whilethe centers of the adjacent rows are spaced about .254 inch apart. Thetops of the holes are then countersunk to have a surface diameter ofabout inch. This arrangement leaves a minimum of solid metal betweeneach hole and at the same time provides a rigid structure. In thismanner, all portions of the pickup felt and fibrous web passing over thesuction area of the suction roll are subjected to suction. At the sametime, the holes are of comparatively small diameter and the felt and webare not pressed away from the top press roll or damaged by being suckedinto these holes.

If desired the suction roll I! may be covered with a resilient coveringor cushion which is perforated in the manner described and claimed in myUnited States Patent No. 1,947,636.

30 horizontal leg 31 below the, suction roll.

The press roll it is mounted above the suction roll 11 in horizontalbearing brackets 25 eccentricallypivoted at 26 'on a supporting angle 21carried by the vertical legs l6 of the frame strucr; ture. The roll i8is thus adjustable horizontally relative to the suction roll 11 by arotation of the eccentric pivot 26. The brackets 25 have an extendingarm portion 28 thereon for receiving a link rod 29 which extendsvertically toward the bottom of the machine and is secured at 30 to ahorizontal arm 3! pivoted at 32 to the vertical leg I5 of the framestructure. The lever arm 3! may have weights 33 mounted thereon forholding the press roll 58 against the suction roll i1 with any desiredpressure which may be regulated by a movement and/or replacement of theweight 33. It is obvious that other pressure adjusting devices may beused in place of the link arm arrangement shown. i For raising the rollW, a device 36 is provided comprising boltsscrewed through the bracketarms and adapted to engage the supporting roll l1 sothat the water dropsinto the save-all angle 21 as shown.

A save-alltray 35 is mounted around the lower 25 portion of the suctionroll I! and is adapted to 1 receive water removed from the web andfeltby the pressing operation. This, save-all tray is preferably V-shaped asshown having a vertical,

. leg 36 extending behind the suction roll H and a Adjacent the end ofthe leg 31 is mounted a wiping device 38 adapted to scrape against theperiphery of the suction roll. The wiping device '38 is pivoted .at 39'and 'may be urged against the roll 3 IT by any suitable counterbalanceor spring means. A thin metal strip 40 is carried by the wiping member38 to direct any of the water removed from the periphery of the suctionroll into press roll to rub off anywater carried by the p roll. -Theangle 4| and the rubber 'strip 43 extend across thewidth of the roll l8so that any water scraped therefrom may drop into the saveall tray 35-,which also extends beyond the length ofthe suction roll I 1. V

50' In the arrangement shown in Figure 1. the

water removing device is operated without the use of a top press felt.In Figure 4, however, a top press felt 45 is directed overthe suction.roll i1v and travels with the pickup felt i2 and fibrous web thereonbetween thenip' of the suction and press rolls. It is then directed awayfrom the fibrous-web carried bythe pick up felt l2 and over guide rolls46. The top felt 45 may be guided by means of an adiustable guide roll41 tomeet the pick up felt and fibrous web thereon at varying points onthe suction roll and vary the amount of wrap of this felt around theroll. Thus if the pickup felt follows the path indicated in solid lineit contacts the fiibrous web on the pickup felt I? at a point aboutmidway between the ends of the suction zone A. However, if the feltguide roll 81 is raised to the position indicated in dotted line the topfelt 45 merely contacts the fibrous web on the pickup felt 62 at the topportion of the roll and travels with the web through the nip between therolls.

It is desirable tovarythe amount of wrap of the top felt around thesuction roll depending upon the weight and porosity of the paper beingproduced. When light weight papers are run over the suction area, theamount of wrap of the J top felt around the suction roll should beincreased to cover all or most of the suction area to seal the same,tlfereby permitting the pulling of a higher vacuum on the sheet to morethoroughly 5 dry the sheet. When heavier and less porous #35 is guidedover the machine by means of guide rolls 48.

Since water is pressed up through the top felt it as it passes throughthe nip between the rolls, a resilient plain slice 49 may be positionedabove the suction roll i1 to wipe against the felt 45. The plain slice49 extends across the width of the felt and prevents the water fromrunning back 2f on the felt and being reabsorbed by the sheet.

It directs this water over the edges of the'felt and tray 35. The plainslice 49 may be carried by suitable journals 50 mounted at its ends inthe 25 frame structure. i A suctionslice 5i (Figure 5) may be used inplace of the plain slice49. This slice 5| is vertically adjustable-ateach end on supports 52 by means of nuts 53 and. 54 threaded on thesupports 30 52 and engaging lugs 55 and 56 respectively extending fromthe suction manifold 51 of. the slice. The. supports 52 extend throughthe lugs 55 and 55 and are carried by the frame structure of themachine. A lip 58, having a passageway 59, ora plurality of suchpassageways extending therethrough is mounted at one'end in the manifold.51, as shown, and projects into the space between the'press roll I 8and the suction drum l1. This lip 58, likethe plain slice 49,- 40extends. across the width of the top felt 45 but instead of merelydirecting the water on the top felt over the edges ofthe felt it drawsthe water throughthe passageways therein into the suction manifold 51.The manifold 51 is connected 45 at one or -both endswith a suction drainline (notjshown) From the above description. it will be understood that'I have now provided a combination suction and press device for removingwater from cylinder formed fibrous .webs without crushing or distortingthe web so that a sheet of maximum strength per unit weight is obtained.The small holes in the suction roll permit pressure to be exerted on theweb as it passes over. the roll for 55 the removal of further quantitiesof water without damaging the Web or felt. These small holes alsopreventthe web and felt from being drawn away from the top roll. Thecombination suction and press rolls therefore sumcien'tly remove the 60water from the wet web Without damage and without the use of the largenumber of extractor rolls, primary press rolls and'the like waterremoving means used heretofore.

The wet web emerging from the last cylinder mold of a cylinder typepaper machine generally contains about 88% by-weight of water, while thepickup felt may contain even higher amounts depending upon the pressureexerted by the 70 coucher rolls. The suction roll part of this inventionbefore the nip of the press part reduces the water content'of the webabout 10% to about 78% water. The pressure roll then squeezes outfurther quantities of water drying the web to 75 about 70% water or lessdepending upon the pressure exerted. The web is thus suificiently driedand formed to be passed directly to the heavy duty presses or to thedriers.

The suction roll as shown on the drawings has a very wide suction areadefined by a floating head on the suction box. This construction makesit possible to pull a vacuum of 12 inches of mercury or more withoutdeflecting the roll or looking the suction box against the roll. The 7high vacuum combined with the large suction area makes possible a verylarge extraction of water before the pressing operation.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details ofconstruction may be varied through a wide range without departing fromthe principles of this invention and I, therefore, do not purposelimiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by theprior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a cylinder type paper machine, in combination, a plurality ofcylinder molds, a plurality of couch rolls cooperating with saidcylinder molds, a pickup felt cooperating with said cylinder molds andcouch rolls to receive the fibrous webs formed on the cylinder molds, asuction roll positioned after the last cylinder mold, a relatively widefloating head in said suction roll to define a wide suction area on theon the pickup felt at a point on the suction roll near-the end of thesuction area thereof, means for adjusting the horizontal position ofsaid press roll relative to said suction roll, means for adjusting thepressure between the rolls, a water collecting trough around the lowerportion of said suction roll, an apron member extending axially acrosssaid press roll and beyond the ends of the press roll for removing.water from the press roll and directing the same into the trough, awiper device urged against the bottom of said suction roll for removingwater therefrom and means associated with said wiper device fordirecting the water removed thereby into the trough.

2. The process of extracting water from wet fibrous webs just subsequentto their formation on a cylinder paper machine which comprises conveyinga pick up felt carrying the newly formed wet web removed thereondirectly from the cylinders away from the cylinders, wrapping the feltand web around the suction area of a suction roll, wrapping a top feltaround the suction area of the roll to cover the wet web thereon,sucking water from the web and pick up felt as they pass over thesuction area, and squeezing additional amounts of water therefrom;

3. In a cylinder paper machine including cylinder molds and a pick upfelt for receiving a wet fibrous web therefrom, a suction drum locatedafter the last cylinder mold in spaced relation therefrom, a press rollurged thereagainst, means for directing the pick up felt and web aroundsaid drum and between the nip of the roll and drum, a top felt and anadjustable top felt guide roll to wrap the top felt over the web aroundthe aoaasrr drum for a predetermined amount of travel thereover.

4. The process of extracting water from the wet, soggy, cylinder-formedfibrous mats removed from the cylinder molds on a pick-up feitwhichcomprises conveying the mat on the 'felt away from the cylinder m'olds,wrapping the felt with the mat thereon around the suction area of asuction roll to remove water from the mat by suction, contacting the matwith a top felt, and pressing the two felts together with the mattherebetween to remove more water therefrom and thereby form aself-supporting fibrous web from the mat.

5. In a cylinder type paper making machine, a pick-up felt for directlyreceiving the wet, soggy, fibrous mats from the cylinder molds, adirecting roll positioned after the last cylinder mold for receiving thepick-up felt therearound, a water extracting device above the directingroll for receiving thereover the mats and felt from the directing roll,a top felt for covering said mats on the pick-up felt as they pass overthe water extracting device, and means for pressing the top felt and thepick-up felt together with the mats therebetween.

6. The process of removing water from the wet, soggy mats picked up by afelt from the cylinder molds of a cylinder type paper machine whichcomprises training the pick-up felt with the mats thereunder around aguide roll positioned after the last cylinder mold, directing thepick-up felt upwardly from the guide roll around a suction drum,covering the fibrous mats with a top felt as they pass around thesuction drum, and extracting water from the fibrous mats through thepick-up felt by suction to form a fibrous web from the mats.

7. The process of extracting water from wet fibrous webs just subsequentto their formation on a paper machine which comprises pickingup the wetfibrous web on a pick-up felt directly from the'forming surface of thepaper machine, conveying ,the web on the felt away from the formingsurface, wrapping said pick-up felt with the web thereon around thesuction area of a suction roll, wrapping a top felt around part of thesuction roll to cover the wet web thereon,

sucking water from the web and pick-up felt as they pass over thesuction area of the roll, and squeezing additional amounts of watertherefrom.

8. In a paper machine, a fibrous web forming part, a pick-up felt forreceiving a wet fibrous web therefrom, a suction drum located after thefibrous web forming part of the machine, a press roll urged against saidsuction roll, means for directing the pick-up felt and web around saiddrum and between the nip of the roll and drum, a top felt for coveringsaid web, and an adiustable top felt guide roll to wrap the top feltover the web around the drum fpr a predetermined amount of travelthereover.

9. In a paper machine having a fibrous web forming surface, a pick-upfelt for receiving a wet, soggy web from the forming surface, a suctionroll spaced from said forming surface, said suction roll having a widesuction head therein for defining a large suction area on the peripheryof the roll, means for training the felt with the web, thereon over saidsuction area, said suction roll being perforated with closely spacedholes of small diameter so that the web and pick-up felt will not bedeformed as they rolls relative to the suction area, means for adjustingthe pressure between the rolls, and a wiper device urged against theperiphery of the suction roll ahead of the suction area to remove watertherefrom.

EARL E. BERRY.

